backyard chickens

Chicken coop plans and tips for homesteaders and backyard farmers. Maybe you’re dreaming of a backyard chicken coop and looking for free DIY chicken coop plans. Or maybe you are already keeping chickens and you’re finding your chicken coop is not meeting your needs. This is the article for you!

Today I’m going to share my best tips for chicken coops, chicken coop tips and maintenance and some free chicken coop plans for you to consider for a DIY project!

Chicken Coop Plans and Tips

What purpose does a chicken coop have?

The purpose of a chicken coop will vary on the goals of the homesteader or backyard farmer. The basic purpose is to keep your hens safe (especially if you don’t or can’t have a rooster). Even in a backyard, chickens can fall prey to a variety of hungry animals. Your chicken area must be predator proof! See Backyard Chicken Predators.

But a chicken coop will also serve to keep your chickens from eating your garden, laying eggs in undesirable places and pooping on everything. A secure chicken coop will also keep nasty rodents from eating your feed and drinking their water. See Keeping Rats and Mice Out of Your Chicken Coop

Not to mention they need a place to sleep at night!

Isn’t Better to Free Range My Chickens?

I think it is great to free-range chickens! Better for their health and better for your eggs. BUT you absolutely still need a chicken coop (see reasons above). For me, my hens remain in their coop from sundown until they’ve laid their eggs for the day. Then they are allowed to roam the backyard happily eating bugs, weeds and grass. But I keep my raised beds protected from the hens, otherwise I could not allow them to free range in our mini homestead.

How big should the chicken coop be?

Everyone has a different opinion on how big you should build your chicken enclousure. First if you cannot allow your chickens to do any free ranging you want to give them as much space as you can “afford” on your property. I always side on bigger is better.

Here a things to consider when you’re planning your backyard coop:

What size chickens will you be raising? Smaller bantam breeds, like a Silkie, will need a minimum of 2 square feet per bird in the coop and 4 square feet of run space. A standard sized chicken, like a Rhode Island Red should have at least 4 square feet in the coop and 8 square feet in the run per bird. Now if you are choosing a larger chicken breed like the Jersey Giant then you’re looking at chicken coop plans for 6 to 8 square feet in the coop and more than 10 square feet in the run.

Coop all the time vs some free roam time.

Some people plan to only have a coop and no run because chickens are free ranging during daylight hours.

How many chickens will you be keeping?

How often will you be cleaning? A smaller coop is going to get messier and smell much faster!

Do you want to be able to walk in your chicken coop and run? You’ll need to consider height of your enclosure too.

Chicken Coop Plans for Location

When it comes to real estate, location is key, right? That is true when planning your chicken area location as well. Of course these tips will vary on how much actual space you have to offer. Here are a few things to consider in your chicken coop plans:

What Does My Chicken Coop Need?

Protected Food – or you’ll be feeding rodents. I recommend investing in a treadle feeder that can only be opened by weight (chicken’s weigh a lot more than rats).

Water dispenser – a hanging waterer may offer you some protection from pests.

Plenty of light and ventilation in both the coop and run

A perch or roosting bar with room enough for all birds to sleep there at night or multiple perches if necessary.

Lighting – hotly debated but if you want more eggs in the winter you may need supplemental lighting.

A area for dust baths. Chickens need to take regular dust baths to keep clean and parasite free. You can offer them and area or make sure you have room for the to dig their own.

What is it like to start a backyard chicken coop?

A small backyard chicken coop is a wonderful addition to a home. Fresh eggs, poop to compost and funny little winged dinosaurs to entertain you. But you need to know what you’re getting into. They don’t lay forever – yes you’ll need an “exit plan” for hens when they are done with laying.

How to build an inexpensive chicken coop?

You can build your own chicken coop with these free DIY Chicken Coop Plans. A DIY chicken coop sounds like a money saver but before you decide to DIY ask yourself these questions.

Are chicken coops really easy to build?

Does the person giving you plans actually know how to build a chicken coop?

Do I have any building experience or expertise? Nothing will cost you more than trying to build a coop with absolutely no knowledge of basic instruction. So if you don’t have it and can’t find someone to help you for free then is a DIY Chicken Coop Plan really saving you money?

Are the materials available to me for a discount or free? Again if the materials make the coop more expensive than the kit, is it worth it? Now the difference may be that the quality of the coop is much better and will last a much longer time; making the more expensive initial investment worth it.

Do you have the time to build a chicken coop? I think this one speaks for itself.

Free Chicken Coop Plans for DIY

If you are set on building a DIY chicken coop here are a few plans worth checking out.

Buying a Chicken Coop on Amazon

You really can buy just about anything on Amazon, including some decent chicken coops that you can put together yourself. But be sure to read the reviews, carefully check the dimensions and consider the materials for your area (will they hold up to the elements?). An Amazon chicken coop might be a great starter coop or one to use while you’re building your dream chicken coop.

What to do about chicken nesting boxes and materials is a question I hear from a lot of my readers. So today I want to go over the tips and tricks I’ve learned about chicken nesting boxes over the years. I am also going to share some simple DIY chicken nesting boxes you can make yourself and save some money (win!).

Your Guide to the Best Chicken Nesting Boxes

Let’s go over a few basics you need to know about how chickens prefer to lay eggs and nesting boxes 101. These are important considerations for chicken nesting boxes because this is what will keep your hen laying daily for as long as possible!

Chicken Nesting Boxes Tips

Your hen wants privacy above all else. Remember she believes she is laying eggs that will hatch so safety is number one. Nesting boxes provide your hens a place to lay, making it easier for you to collect the eggs vs letting them lay where ever they please.You want your nesting boxes to be:

Not too much light

Private

Quiet

Safe (away from other animals)

Clean and fresh

Generally you want to place your chicken’s nesting box in her coop

Best Material for Chicken Nesting Boxes

Whether you decided to construct your own nesting boxes or buy a pre-made box, there are some considerations to keep in my. The biggest concern is being able to keep your nesting box clean. So you want to pick a box or materials to make one that can be washed, scrubbed and sterilized.

Wood Nesting Boxes

You’ll often see chicken nesting boxes made of wood, which isn’t awful; but cleaning it will break it down over time. And I worry that it can’t really be sterilized efficiently. You can find these pre-made wooden boxes or free plans for you own.

Plastic Nesting Boxes

Chicken nesting boxes made of plastic have some real advantages too. First, they are easily cleaned and sterilized. They are usually less expensive than their metal counterparts and won’t heat up as much in the summer. They do risk the wearing down in direct sun though, so that should be a consideration. Check out these plastic options:Poly Egg Nesting Boxes, 6 packWall Mounted Nesting Box, 2 pack

Best Bedding Material For Chicken Nesting Boxes

Bedding really does matter for your chicken nesting boxes. Of course we want our laying hens to be comfortable but most importantly we want them to be healthy.

Reusable Nest Liners – These washable nest liners are a great option for reusable, easy to clean and ready-made nest materials.

Straw or Hay – a great affordable option for your chicken nesting boxes is simply using straw or hay. It has a great sweet aroma, ok for the hens to eat and can be bought in bulk for a savings.

Wood Shavings – most popular would be pine or cedar shavings. I like that shavings offer a pleasant aroma and general dry quickly. They can be pricey if you’re getting them at a pet store so shop around! You should check out Fresh Eggs Daily’s post on Straw vs Shavings for more information.

Yard Waste – I have seen a few people recommend using fallen leaves or grass clippings as chicken nesting materials. This is definitely a no-cost option but I caution you to be careful of your source. Trees and grass are often treated with chemicals and we don’t want that around our hens! These are also not the most absorbent materials so you’ll need to change them often.

Sand – It can be a great option for ease of clean up and quick to dry. However sand does heat up so it would not be a great option for hot climates. It also does not offer the comfort to your hen that the other nesting box materials will. Be VERY careful with using fine sand that can cause respiratory issues.

Herbs for Chicken Nesting Boxes

Have you considered herbs for your chicken nesting boxes? Herbs aren’t just a way to add a scent to the coop, they have some important contributions to health and wellness for your laying hens too.

Here are a few popular herbs that can benefit your hens when added to their nests.

Basil – Has a calming effectCatnip – Can be an effective insect repellent Dill – Improves chicken respiratory health and can also be calmingFennel – Can increase laying in hensLavender- Relaxing, smells wonderful and can in increases blood circulationLemon Balm – Relaxing and can deter rats and mic How to have a Rodent Free CoopMarigolds – Helps to keep insects at bay. Mint – Rodent and insect repellent, smells wonderfulNettles – RelaxingParsley – Vitamin boostRose Petals – Calming and aromatic (make sure they are pesticide free)Thyme – Great for respiratory healthYarrow- Reduces stress

If you don’t want to collect all these herbs yourself there are great pre-made options available especially made for chicken nesting boxes.

Chicken Nesting Boxes Questions

How Many Hens Per Nesting Box?

This is a highly debatable topic but I’ll give you my opinion, based on my backyard hens. I have often found that one box for every 4 – 5 hens is sufficient. And what is really funny is that even when I had 1 box PER HEN, they often all laid in the same box. I would laugh to see them upset when their favorite nesting box was already occupied! What a ruckus!

How do I get my hens to lay in nesting boxes?

If you follow all of the above suggestions the likelihood is your hens will lay there without any coaxing from you. However if you find that they are laying outside of your offerings here are a few tricks to try:

Put a fake egg in the boxes to give them the idea that this is a preferred laying area.

If they are free range hens you might want to wait until they’ve laid (mid-morning) before letting them out of the coop.

Final Word on Chicken Nesting Boxes

Hens are animals like like clean and safe environments for laying. Provide them nesting boxes that meet those two requirements and you won’t have to worry about much else. Sure, there may be an occasional stray layer but you can usually get her back on track with a little training.

Take good care of your girls, and they’ll provide healthy and delicious eggs for years.

How to fight your HOA for backyard chickens, can it be done? Over the last few years the idea of having a few hens in the backyard for eggs and pest control has become a popular concept. It makes sense really, when you consider that people in the city often kept chickens and had a kitchen garden. In fact during the 2 world wars governments encouraged people to keep meat rabbits, chickens and have a “victory” garden that they canned from.

But somewhere along the way to progress and modernization we lost the commonsense of self-sufficiency. But I digress… If you’re reading this article than you’ve probably already decided that backyard chickens are a good idea; you just need to fight your hoa for backyard chickens! Awhile back a wrote about keeping a secret chicken coop with Secret Backyard Chickens; and even if you aren’t keeping them secret there are helpful tips your neighbors will appreciate. However, I realize that trying to keep a secret that is out in the open isn’t easy and not everyone is comfortable.

How to Fight Your HOA for Backyard Chickens

Building Square Foot Boxes

Building Square Foot Boxes really isn’t complicated. If we can do it, anyone can! Here is our step by step guide.

I know when we started I felt a little overwhelmed with all the information. How to to build, what to used, how to fill them. Today I am sharing one of my podcasts (from last year) on how we build our square foot garden boxes answering reader questions.

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